Supernatural Horror Film Annabelle gets a Sequel Annabelle: Creation

James Wan’s throwback supernatural horror film The Conjuring has spawned an unlikely franchise, including a successful sequel and the spinoff Annabelle series. All three films proved to be hugely profitable for Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, grossing nearly $900 million worldwide. Because any B.O. success warrants a sequel these days, David F. Sandberg (Lights Out) is hard at work on a new one, which released a teaser last fall. And now, we’ve learned that the Annabelle sequel’s official title is Annabelle: Creation.

If you know the premise, the title makes a lot of sense. Annabelle: Creation is a prequel to Annabelle, which itself is a prequel to The Conjuring. In Annabelle 2, “Several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a dollmaker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the dollmaker’s possessed creation, Annabelle.”

Sandberg directs from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman, who also wrote Annabelle. Warner Bros. and New Line may not have to worry about Annabelle: Creation’s commercial prospects, but the sequel does have to overcome the first Annabelle’s relative disappointment for critics. While Annabelle did feature some effective scares for fans of the franchise, it lacked the freshness and pure visceral thrills that made The Conjuring such a big hit. The talent assembled for Annabelle: Creation gives hope that the franchise can rebound with the sequel.